Anti-Infection of Oral Microorganisms from Herbal Medicine of Piper crocatum Ruiz & Pav

Abstract

The WHO Global Status Report on Oral Health 2022 reveals that oral diseases caused by infection with oral pathogenic microorganisms affect nearly 3.5 billion people worldwide. Oral health problems are caused by the presence of S. mutans, S. sanguinis, E. faecalis and C. albicans in the oral cavity. Synthetic anti-infective drugs have been widely used to treat oral infections, but have been reported to cause side effects and resistance. Various strategies have been implemented to overcome this problem. Synthetic anti-infective drugs have been widely used to treat oral infections, but they have been reported to cause side effects and resistance. Therefore, it is important to look for safe anti-infective alternatives. Ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological studies suggest that Red Betel leaf (Piper crocatum Ruiz & Pav) could be a potential source of oral anti-infectives. This review aims to discuss the pathogenesis mechanism of several microorganisms that play an important role in causing health problems, the mechanism of action of synthetic oral anti-infective drugs in inhibiting microbial growth in the oral cavity, and the potential of red betel leaf (Piper crocatum Ruiz & Pav) as an herbal oral anti-infective drug. This study emphasises the importance of researching natural components as an alternative treatment for oral infections that is more effective and can meet global needs.

Keywords:

• Piper crocatum
• anti-infection
• antibacterial
• antifungal
• oral pathogen

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Universitas Padjadjaran for all research facilities.

Author Contributions

All authors have made a substantial contribution to the work reported, be it in the conception, design, conduct, acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data, or in all these areas; all authors have also been involved in the preparation, revision, or critical review of the article reported; have given final approval to the version to be published; have approved the journal to which the article has been submitted; and agree to take responsibility for all aspects of the work.

Disclosure

The authors declare no conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by Article Review Grant and the Academic Leadership Grant (ALG) Prof. Dikdik Kurnia, M.Sc, Ph.D., (504/UN6.WR3/TU.00/2024; 13 Maret 2024).